promise?
by grapes-day
Summary: The three times Josh comforts Riley and the one time she comforts him. Centred around the relationship between uncle and niece. Minor Rucas and Joshaya.


**Summary: The three times Josh comforts Riley and the one time she comforts him.**

 **A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for checking out this fic. I hope that you enjoy it. Let me know what you guys think below and if you have any suggestions for the next fic! :)**

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 **1.**

He finds her sitting on the chair in the waiting room, his oldest brother beside her. Riley has her head on Eric's shoulder, tear tracks on her small cheeks as she sniffs. Josh watches as his mother hugs his niece, whispering comforting words, and feels his heart ache when Riley buries her face into his mother's neck.

"Hey Riles," the ten-year-old says softly and smiles fondly when her bright eyes turn to him. At the sight of him, a small smile makes its way onto her face and she squirms out of Amy's arms to wrap her tiny arms around him instead.

"Uncle Josh," she sniffs again and he hugs her tighter. "Mommy was in pain and Daddy had to bring us here."

"They're going to be okay, sweetheart," his father says.

He feels her tears soak through her shirt but does not let go. Across from them, his father gives him a thumbs up for handling Riley and Josh nods at his mother when she motions that his parents and brother were going to enter Topanga's room.

"Hey, you know what the best part about this, Riley?" he asks her and she pulls away from him. Josh sits on the chair Eric had occupied earlier, letting Riley sit on his lap. The young girl shakes her head, tears still flowing.

Gently, he wipes her tears with his thumb and then tells her, "You're going to be a big sister. Didn't you tell me how excited you were last week?"

She shakes her head again, tears coming back into her eyes, and Josh feels himself panicking.

"I don't want him if he's bringing Mommy pain!" she wails, and Josh hushes her when he hugs her again.

"Riles, your mother is going to be fine. You know how I know?"

"H-How?" she hiccups and looks at him hopefully. Josh gulps, hoping that his next words really comforted her.

"Because Topanga is the strongest person we both know," he grins when she nods in agreement with him immediately. "See? Didn't you tell me that she sat on Uncle Eric the other day?"

Riley giggled when he reminded her, and Josh finds the weight in his chest lift at the sound of her laughter. "Uncle Eric called Mommy fat and asked for her pizza."

"Yeah, he's never going to learn," Josh laughs.

"Uncle Josh?"

"Yeah, Riles?"

"Promise that Mommy will be okay?"

He desperately wants to say no. He never wants to break a promise to Riley. And he knows that it is not guaranteed that everything will go smoothly. He knows that his own birth was a struggle to his family, and to tell Riley otherwise would be to lie to her. So he knows he needs to tell her the truth.

But then he looks at her and his resolve breaks. She's looking at him as though he has all the answers in the world, as though whatever he says next will make her feel better. So he swallows down the refusal that threatens to spill and instead says, "I promise."

She gives him the most blinding smile, and he hopes and prays that this is not the first time his promise is broken to her.

Riley stays by his side the whole time, even after Shawn, Morgan and Topanga's parents arrive, and Josh cannot help but feel a sense of pride that she chooses him to stick to.

He will never forget how relieved her felt three hours later when Cory barges out into the waiting room and tells them that both mother and baby are fine. He will never forget the tight hug Riley gives him first before she runs to her father. He will never forget the look of pride on Cory's face when he smiles at him, thanking him for taking care of Riley.

His niece needs to feel safe in the world, and he promises that he would always do his part to make her feel that way.

 **2.**

She is sitting on the steps of her cabin, rubbing her hands across her arms as she stares at the snow at her feet when she hears footsteps trudging towards her. She does not bother looking up, not wanting to give the person the impression that she is up for company.

"Why aren't you with your friends?" he asks her softly, and she looks at him, giving him a small smile. Okay, so if there is anyone she will not turn away, it's her uncle. She slides to the side of the step, giving him space to sit beside her.

"Tired," she shrugs. "Wanted to be alone."

"Do you want me to leave?"

"I would never want you to leave," she shakes her head, and he smiles at her fondly.

"You ok Riles?"

She looks at him, blinking at his question, eyes squinting. It has been a while since someone has asked her that question, and Riley finds that she does not know the answer. The past few months have been an emotional roller coaster, from the triangle to getting her best friend back to the triangle.

"Riles?"

Tears brim in her eyes, "I don't know."

She feels his comforting arms around her shoulders, and leans into him. She remembers how easy it is being with her uncle. Before Auggie was born, and before she had Maya, Josh had been one of her favorite people in the world. Even after, when he went to high school and she had her own friends to be with, they had always been close. They didn't talk as often, but she knows she can always count on him. He is her uncle, but he is also more of an older brother she knows she can always count on.

"I saw Lucas just now," he starts and she closes her eyes, suddenly not wanting to listen to anything he has to say. "He looked really upset, Riley."

"We had a fight," she admits and he nods.

He does not ask her what the fight is about. He does not as her why she is not confronting the problem. He does not push her to take action.

Instead, he sits with her in silence, letting her cry and not caring that his shirt is getting soaked. Slowly, her tears stop, and she pulls away, feeling better than she did a few moments ago. She continues leaning against him though, feeling safe.

"Thanks for sitting with me, Uncle Josh," she smiles at him appreciatively and he shrugs. "Are you going to make me talk?"

"Only if you want to."

And so she talks. She tells him about the triangle, about how emotionally taxing it has been for her and her friends. She tells him about how things have been resolved, and how they decided on finding themselves before finding each other. She tells him about how the past few months have brought up her insecurities once again, about how she feels as though everything she does is never enough.

It's as though a burden has been lifted from her when she tells him, suddenly feeling free.

"Wow. Guess I missed a lot, huh?" her cousin nudges her and she chuckles, nodding. "Why didn't you call me?"

She shrugs, suddenly not being able to look at him. "You were busy with college and stuff and I didn't want to bother you with – "

"Riley, you can never bother me," he interrupts and for the first time, she sees him look disturbed at what she has said. She internally curses. This is what she does. She says the wrong thing, and she upsets the people around her. Just like the first day of high school.

"Hey, stop that," she hears him say before she feels a small sting on her forehead. Her eyes widen as she looks at her uncle in shock, rubbing her forehead as he grins at her.

"Did you just flick me?" she asks in disbelief and he laughs.

"Haven't done that in a while," he shrugs.

"That's because I was eight the last time you did!"

She cannot help but giggle when he shrugs again, not at all repentant.

"Can you promise me that things are going to be okay?"

Josh has never broken a promise to her. If anything, he's one the few people she knows will never let her down.

"Niece, you think too much," he tells her and the lightness from before dissipates at his statement. Once again, a frown mars her face and her uncle worriedly tries to backtrack. "I'm sorry, Riles. Did I say something wrong?"

" _Sometimes, you are just too much for me, Riley."_

Words said about a month ago, words that have haunted her since they were uttered, echo in her mind. She understands that it was a tough time for her and her friends, and that sometimes, people do not mean what they say. But words hurt, and words stay, and those words have been lingering in the back of her mind since she first heard them.

She hears her uncle sigh beside her.

"Riley, I don't know what's going through your mind. And ever since you told me that you wanted to raise a unicorn when you were six, I haven't pretended to," her uncle chuckles and Riley felt the corners of her mouth edge up again. "But what I do know is that the Riley Matthews I know loves her friends, and she will always listen to them before she makes her own judgments."

She turns to look at him, wondering how his words could make her feel better so fast. Her uncle tilts his head towards another cabin, the one she had walked away from earlier.

"Go talk to him, Riley. Hear him out," he advises and when she makes to say something, he stops her. "Lucas Friar is crazy about you, Riles. I see the way he looks at you and Cory has every reason to be worried. Talk to him. Hear his side before you do anything else."

Her uncle is right and she knows it. But knowing and doing are two different things.

"Riley?" a different voice peaks up, and she gulps before looking at him. As it has since the moment she saw him in the subway, her heart thumps louder and faster at the sight of him. His emerald eyes are downcast with apology, and he is looking at her with hope. "Can we talk?"

She looks at her uncle then, and when he gives her an encouraging smile, she nods at Lucas.

"Thanks, Uncle Josh," she pecks him on the cheek before she gets up and walks away with Lucas, steeling herself for a tough conversation.

Her uncle is right though. One of the reasons her friends and her had decided to take time to find themselves was because they wanted to always be friends, to always be able to talk and listen to one another. So for now, she listens.

 **3.**

The urgent knocks on his room door startle him awake. He groans as he lifts himself off the bed. The person waking him up at 2.30 a.m better has a damn good reasons for being in his room.

His eyes widen when he sees his niece at the entrance of his room.

"Riley!" he pulls her into the room, looking out to make sure that nobody was following her. He closes the door behind him, crossing his arms over his chest as his niece sits on the edge of his bed, eyes on the floor. "Are you here alone?"

She nods, and he resists the urge to scream at her. What the hell is wrong with her? Walking to his campus in the middle of the night alone is not safe! He wills himself to calm down though, knowing that if he does yell at her, he will never get to the root of whatever problem his niece is having.

"Riley, is everything ok?" he asks and she looks at him, tears in her brown eyes as she shakes her head. Not for the first time, his heart aches at the sight of her sad face. If there is anyone in the world who will always be able to reduce him to a pile of mush, it is his niece. He kneels in front of her, lifting her chin. "Riles?"

"We're going to separate colleges," she says so softly that he almost misses it. But he does, and his heart lurches in his chest. "Maya and I are going to different colleges."

If it had been anyone else coming to him in the middle of the night with the issue of being separated from their best friend, Josh knows he would have told the person that they were overreacting. But this is his niece, and he knows how much she loves her best friend, knows how much her best friend loves her, and he knows how much they've fought for each other.

"Riley, I'm so sorry," he sympathetically takes her hand. "But you and Maya are going to –"

"People really need to stop saying that," Riley snaps and gets up from the bed to pace. "We don't know what life has planned for us. We don't know if we'll change. We don't know that we'll even be friends after college."

She deflates after her outburst, tear tracks on her face as she regards him. He sighs, taking a seat on his bed.

"Feel better?" he asks and she nods, giving him a small smile. "Riley, I need you to have faith."

"What if faith isn't enough?" she questions softly, and if there is ever anything she says that shows him how much she has grown, it's that one question.

She's not the same wide-eyed girl who had the unfailing belief in the goodness of the world at the start of high school. No, by the end of high school, she'd come to realize the cruelties of the world, and he'd seen the hope she had slowly reducing. It's still there, of course. She is just more realistic now.

"Riley, it isn't enough," he tells her and when she pouts at him for his unhelpful statement, he chuckles. "You know that by now, Riley. You know that if you want to make something happen, you have to do more than believe. You have to take action."

Her face lights up and she grins at him when he says so. Josh resists the urge to rub his forehead, knowing that she has gotten the wrong message.

"You're saying I should transfer to NYU!" she squeals and makes to hug him but he holds his hand out, stopping her.

"That is not what I'm saying at all," he laughs and almost feels bad when her shoulders slump. "Riley, it's going to be hard. You're going to have different schedules, and it's going to take a lot of effort to maintain what you have. But if any group of best friends can do it, it's yours."

She sinks onto his bed, suddenly looking like the lost girl he had supported all those years ago in the hospital room.

"Remember what Uncle Eric told us?" she stares into space blankly as she asks. "Lose one friend. Lose all friends. Lose yourself."

He does not know what to say to that. Instead, he just sits with her and lets her think.

She looks at him a few moments later, and he feels a sense of pride when she sits straighter, determination etched on her face. She tucks her hair behind her ear and tells him, "I'm not going to lose my friends, Uncle Josh."

"If there's any one who can make sure you and your friends stick together, it's you," he repeats and walks to the door. He resists the urge to roll his eyes when he hears the noise outside the door. "Besides, you won't be doing that alone."

He opens his dorm door, and three bodies collapse into his room, the other two giving him a sheepish smile each at the entrance. He watches as Riley's face lights up with love for her friends, and feels the weight in his chest when she arrived lift when Maya goes to hug her. Lucas stands beside him, giving the girls their space while Farkle, Isadora and Zay wait their turn for their group hug.

Maya smiles at him, mouthing a 'thank you'. Josh nods, ignoring the way his heart starts beating faster at the sight of his niece's blonde best friend like he has for the past few months. He shoves Lucas when the younger man gives him a knowing look.

Yeah, Riley and her friends are going to be just fine.

 **+1**

"Josh?"

She watches as he blinks, coming out of the trance he was in. His eyes widen at the sight of her, relief marring his worried face when he wraps his arms around her. She hugs him back tighter, praying that she never sees him look so lost and broken again.

"Are you okay?" she asks gently and when he shakes his head, she sighs sadly. She pulls away from him, though her hands still grips his tight. "They'll be fine."

He blinks back the tears that cloud his eyes at the mention of his wife and newborn daughter and Riley reminds herself to be calm. He's always been the strong one. It is her turn now to hold him up.

"They'll be fine," she repeats again firmly before turning to the look into the room Josh cannot seem to look away from.

"Why aren't you with Maya?" he asks and she gives him a pointed look, not at all impressed with his question.

"She fell asleep a few minutes ago. Katy is with her. Why aren't you?"

He turns away from her and points to the room he has been staring at.

"She looked so little," he whispers and Riley resists the urge to cry then and there. "What if something happens to her? What if she's not lucky as I was?"

She does not know what to say to that, and so reaches out towards him instead. Her uncle leans onto her, and she holds him up. She knows how exhausted he is, how he is barely keeping himself together, and she promises that she will hold him up for as long as he needs her to.

Her uncle returns to Maya's side a few minutes later, and Riley is left standing outside the room.

She'd been avoiding going in, not wanting to see how vulnerable her goddaughter looked. She'd seen the little one for the first time after being with her best friend through her intense labor. She can barely shake the image of her tiny goddaughter in the doctor's arms, being taken to another place to be treated.

Riley lets out a deep breath, steeling herself for what she is about to face. She wants to visit her goddaughter after. After everything has settled down, after the small baby starts breathing on her own, after Maya and Josh can hold her in their arms for the first time. But Riley knows that she needs to be with her goddaughter now, that she needs that little bundle of joy to know that she has people who love her, and that she cannot leave.

She breathes in, and just as she is about to walk in, a large hand slips into hers and she turns. She relaxes at his touch, closing her fingers around her husband's hand when he gives her a small encouraging smile.

"Together?" Lucas asks and she is thankful for the way he always makes her feel stronger than she knows she is. She nods at him and together, they enter the room.

Her heart aches at the sight of her goddaughter, and Riley feels as though she cannot breathe. Her goddaughter looks so breakable, tiny tubes in and out of her body, enclosed in the incubator.

Riley wonders if this is how her parents felt like all those years ago when Josh was born, helpless but hopeful at the same time. She wonders if her mother wanted to scream at how unfair life is, that an innocent baby whose first contact with life is hardship. She wonders if love is enough to bring her goddaughter home.

It has to be.

Lucas' presence beside her calms her enough to speak, and Riley does not tear her gaze away from her goddaughter for one second.

"Hey, princess. We're going to need you to get better soon, okay? You have so many people who love you. You have me and your Uncle Lucas here. We're always going to be here for you and we're so excited for you to meet us. Your Uncle Zay is in the cafeteria now. He stress eats," she chuckles through her tears and though she knows she probably imagines it, her goddaughter's head turn tilt towards her. Riley carries on talking, encouraged. "Your Uncle Farkle and Aunt Isadora are on their way too, you know. But you know who you're supposed to be most excited about?"

Riley goes closer to the incubator, her hand on the glass, wishing more than anything else that she could hold the small child in her arms.

"You have your parents who are probably the most amazing people in the world. You're going to want to get to know them," her voice cracks as she continues on. "Your mother is the strongest and fiercest person I know. She'll keep you safe, paint with you, and you will never feel unloved with her. I know I haven't."

She feels Lucas' arm on her shoulder, and she winds their hands together. "And your dad, princess. He is the most caring person ever. He is such a cool guy and you can go to him for anything. You've been his little girl since the day your mom told him about you. He's always going to be there for you. Like – like he has for me," she sniffs. "Pull through for us, okay? We love you."

"Oh, honey," her best friend's voice shakes across from her. Riley looks up from the incubator, and grips the hand Maya holds out tightly and the two of them smile at each other through their tears.

Josh has his arms around his wife, his eyes red as tears well up in his eyes. Riley shakes her head at him, knowing that if those tears fall, she would start crying harder. She wipes her tears with her other hand and then starts to move to give the new parents time with their child.

"We'll be outside," she hears Lucas tell them, and she hugs Maya and Josh tightly before they leave.

"Riles?"

She turns to her uncle, and when he gives her the first genuine smile she has seen in a few days, she finds herself smiling too. Josh points at his daughter and says, "She'll be lucky to have you too. I know I am."

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